When Ice meets Fire
by Aries L
Summary: AU. What do you get when you put Hotaru and Natsume together?
1. Natsume Hyuuga

AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

The story is in Hotaru's POV.

* * *

**When Ice meets Fire**

**Chapter I**

In a blink of an eye, it has been three weeks. Time really flies, I guess. I recently entered Alice Academy and I'm already used to it. My parents moved about often since I was young, so much so that I could barely remember my childhood.

Anyway, I was on my way to the supermarket due to an unfortunate turn of events. Apparently, my dorm mate and my self-proclaimed best friend, Mikan Sakura, had decided that we should bet on a game of blackjack and the loser would do the grocery shopping. No wonder they said idiots have the best of luck.

I took the basket and began picking out the food listed. Wait, why was fluff puff even listed on the list? Sneaky Mikan must have added that in secretly. I made a mental note to charge her some money.

Blueberry juice. "Why is that god damn juice so high up on the rack?" I cursed silently, after my futile attempts of trying to reach for it.

"One last try," I told myself. I tipped toe and reached out my fingers for it. Just that _bit_ and I would have been able to get it. Just then, someone else grabbed it before I could.

"Here," the raven hair guy who took the juice said as he passed it to me.

I stared it at it. Then his crimson eyes looked right into mine. He rose his eyebrows.

"Thanks," I said belatedly.

"You're welcome."

I placed the juice in my basket and was ready to go, until I felt a tap on my shoulders. I turned around only to see the very same person.

"Yes?"

"Have we-,"

"Met before? No. That was a pretty bad pickup line."

He chuckled a little, seeming amused by my attitude. I get that too often for it to bother me. I merely stared at him with a nonchalant look.

"But you do look familiar," he said as he squinted his eyes and looked at me.

"Too bad, you don't look familiar to me. Bye."

"See you again."

"What?" Why?

"Bye shortie."

Damn you.

* * *

"Oh Hotaru you're finally back! I thought you had been kidnapped or something." Mikan exclaimed exuberantly.

"Not exactly the most pleasant welcome, but I guess it works too."

She giggled happily. For a sixteen-year-old, she was such a kid. "Dinner's all ready!"

"So, did you manage to buy everything?" She asked mindlessly as we began eating.

"Yes, including your fluff puff."

"Yay Hotaru you're the best!" She said with her mouth full of spaghetti as she gave me a thumbs up. God, it's so disgusting.

"Don't talk while eating," I admonished. I took a sip of the blueberry juice. "Oh and you flattered me. Of course I'd charge you service charge for that fluff puff. It wasn't included in our bet."

"Hotaru, don't be so mean. I know you love me so much that you wouldn't right?" She added a little wink.

"Love and money is two different matter." I smirked.

* * *

"Good morning Hotaru," Ruka Nogi, the class vice president, greeted as I stepped in the class. His eyes lit up and he smiled vibrantly at me, showing a set of perfect teeth.

"You too," I returned, smiling a little.

As usual, I arrived early for lessons. The classroom was rather empty and quiet, which was pretty enjoyable for me. Not to mention, Ruka was also there in class as always. Ruka. His blond hair, blue eyes were charming and alluring, not to mention he was also intelligent. An excellent role model. What a prince charming. I know it's foolish but, I couldn't help but had taken a liking for him. I've kept it as a secret, even from Mikan.

So there I sat at my seat, doing my own things while occasionally stealing peeks at Ruka. Before I knew it, the bell rang.

"Mikan Sakura?" My home room teacher, Mr. Narumi began calling out attendance.

Silence.

"Oh my god, Mr Narumi I'm here!" Mikan said as she stood panting at the door. Her face was pallid from running.

Dramatic entrance as always.

"You're almost late," Mr. Narumi frowned a little. However, his frown turned into a big smile in a trice. "Take a seat."

"Everyone's present! Excellent to begin the day. But before I start with my lessons, I have a new student to introduce," Narumi said cheerfully. "Please welcome him!"

Oh. It's him. The blueberry juice guy. The very same person who insulted me.

"My name is Natsume Hyuuga."

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**To be continued**

**Comments please?**

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	2. Donuts

**When Ice meets Fire**

**Chapter II**

_"I am Natsume Hyuuga."_

Why were those girls even squealing. God, they're so annoying. Their incessant screams hurt my ears.

Mikan nudged me from behind, "Oh my god, Hotaru he's hot!" She stared dreamily at him. I took a glance at him, it was hard to deny. He caught my eyes and smirked at me. I ignored him.

"Please take any empty seat," Mr Narumi gestured. Natsume just sat at the closest seat available, which was beside me. I gave him an acrimonious look. No more peace for me. "Since Natsume is a new student, is there anyone who'd like to volunteer as his partner?"

Hands shot up in class, which the most belonged to girls, excluding me. Obviously I wouldn't. It would be a waste of time and time is money. Why waste money? Koko, the class joker shouted out, "Mr Narumi, Sumire says she'd like to volunteer as tribute!" A chorus of laughter sounded through the classroom.

"Well, well, so many choices. I guess it'd be up to you then, Natsume." Mr Narumi added a wink. I shuddered. His sexuality never fails to puzzle me.

All eyes turned to Natsume. "I'll have her then," he averred, pointing to his right. His poker face met my blank face.

"Hotaru, it is then." Narumi declared. Disappointment pervaded the room. Wait. What? I did not agree to this. Never did and never would.

"But,-" I got cut off by Natsume, who was tapping on my shoulders. "What?" I was clearly annoyed.

"Don't you remember me from yesterday?"

"Unfortunately, I do. Don't think I didn't hear that insult." I glared. Seriously, I'm not short.

"You could at least be grateful to the guy who helped."

"Well, I said thanks yesterday." He shrugged.

"I told you you'd see me again."

I rolled my eyes and ignored that comment. If it wasn't for the school jacket I was wearing yesterday he wouldn't have found out I was in Alice Academy anyway. "If it's not obvious enough, I'm not much of a willing partner. Why choose me?" I stated monotonously.

"Just because," he smirked.

With that, Mr Narumi left the class and there came Mr Jinno. Great, so there I was, stuck to Natsume Hyuuga. May God bless my forbearance.

* * *

It was home economics period. Not exactly my favourite subject. In fact, it's one of those I despised the most. Most of the times, I get paired up with useless guys who were totally clueless about cooking and that miffed me greatly.

Today wasn't any better.

I got paired up with my dearest partner, Natsume Hyuuga. Note the sarcasm. "So what are we supposed to do?" He seemed bored. Apparently, he didn't listening to the lesson.

"Fry the donuts, that's it." I said tersely. He nodded and disappeared. So he decided to leave everything for me to do. Nice play there.

So I was doing a rather excellent job frying the donuts until Natsume miraculously appeared right behind me and said under his hot breath, "Are you done yet? He surprised me, making me jumped a little. The oil from the pan splattered to my arm. I mouthed some inaudible profanities as it stung. Wincing, I shot an acrid look at him.

"If you weren't going to help then don't bother asking." I walked over to the tap.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like to you? Obviously I'm treating my wound." Ouch. It hurt. "A big thanks to you," I muttered irritably.

Natsume stood there rooted for a while before leaving and coming back with a small wet hand towel. He took my arm away from the running tap water. He squeezed the towel dry began dabbing it on my arm gingerly. I was befuddled, a moment ago he was being a jerk and now he's being nice? What a weirdo. Maybe he felt contrite, after all it was indeed his fault. Looks like he wasn't such a bad person after all.

"Thanks." I stared at my arm, which was soon becoming less red.

"No problem," he said as took the towel off my arm. He suddenly shifted his body nearer to me. I blinked and he was right in front of me. I took a step back but his face leaned so close to me that I could feel his breathing. His eyes bore into mine as I stared right back. It was as though he could see through me. Stunned, I blinked profusely and bit my lips. He flitted his eyes to my lips.

My eyes widened. "The donuts!"

* * *

I exited that awkward situation and walked over to the frying pan, overflowed with oil. I quickly switched off the fire.

"What a mess," I muttered and sighed audibly.

"Hotaru what happened?" Ruka walked over. "Wow that's some really black donuts there," he chuckled.

Natsume pointed to my burn, "She hurt her arm."

"What? Are you okay?" Ruka tilted his head slightly. "Tell you what, Natsume, dress up her wound and I'll help to clear this up."

Natsume nodded and so he did as followed. My wound wasn't really that bad, but I was glad to know that Ruka cared. But what the hell did Natsume just tried to pull off earlier? My body twitched and I squelched my thought. For a moment, I didn't feel like knowing.

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**To be continued**

**Comments please?**

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	3. 1:0

**When Ice meets Fire**

**Chapter III**

Two weeks passed quickly. Natsume Hyuuga soon got famous. He was popular with girls for his looks and the guys found him cool. He was notorious with the teachers for his insolence and defiance, yet they can't reprimand him as he was intelligent. According to the girls, he was enigmatically charming. A school heartthrob, although the exact opposite to Ruka. He even had a fan club, with Sumire being the proclaimed president. Rumors said that there seemed to be flames around him when he got angry, together with his cold demeanor and fiery temper, he earned the title of fire boy.

But to me, that said fire boy was a puzzling person. Despite being his partner for a fortnight, I simply couldn't fully understand him. His actions or words didn't make sense to me. He wasn't as easy to read as others. He's quite a jerk too.

* * *

_"How gentleman of you." My sarcasm at the its most. I rolled my eyes at him and he smirked in return. "I saw it first."_

Apparently, my seats were stolen. After taking a long stroll through the canteen, I finally found a seat for two. I approached the chair and was preparing to pull the it until someone else sat on it. Natsume Hyuuga.

"I sat on it first." He stated matter-of-factly. Did I mentioned before that he wasn't such a bad person before? My bad, I'd like to take back my words. He should know who he was messing with. Me, Hotaru Imai, aka the ice queen. I'm totally gamed for this.

"Haven't you heard of first come first serve?" He added fuel to the fire. What was he even thinking? Messing with me?

"Haven't you heard of ladies first?" I retorted, mimicking the same tone. He looked aggravated and sighed, but there were no signs of him giving up.

"Hotaru I've bought the food! Come on let's sit over there," came a high-pitched voice.

"Wait, I've something to settle first." I hushed Mikan.

"Bastard." I hissed.

"Shrew." He replied without missing a beat.

"Oh you flattered me, prick." Oh how I enjoyed pushing his buttons. I smirked.

He rolled his eyes. "You're such a she-devil."

"Says the villain."

"Witch."

"Jerk."

"Vertically challenged." His lips curled up a little.

My face scrunched. "Asshole."

"Hag."

"Brat."

"Creep."

"Psycho."

"Ice queen."

"Fire boy."

Natsume opened his mouth but Ruka appeared from behind, "Oh Natsume you managed to find us seats." He closed his lips. Ruka glanced at the both Natsume and I, in which we were engaged in a battle of glaring. "What's the matter?"

I didn't want Ruka to have such a bad impress of me, so I said, "Nothing, let's go Mikan." It could had went on forever.

No Natsume, that didn't mean that you won. I am Hotaru Imai and Hotaru Imai doesn't lose.

I shot him one last glare before leaving. "Bye Richard." Because Richard is another name for... Nevermind. Both Mikan and Ruka looked puzzled but Natsume seemed to have gotten it, I caught him with a snicker.

Too bad, Natsume.

Hotaru:Natsume: 1-0.

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**To be continued**

**Comments please?**

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	4. Valentine's Day

**When Ice meets Fire**

**Chapter IV**

_"Remind me, what the hell are we doing in this abandoned room?"_

_"Hiding."_

_"What am I doing here then?"_

_"Shh. Don't talk.__"_

* * *

It was Valentine's Day. To many, it was the day to confess love, the day where feelings get either repudiated or accepted, the day of love.

But to me, it was just another day. Or at most, a day bombarded with gifts. I was showered with presents and food like chocolates, sweets and other confectioneries. Anyway, it wasn't any special day, I wouldn't dare to confess to Ruka anyway. I didn't like doing things I had no confidence in as the very possibility of being rejected deterred me so.

The morning I woke, I was attacked by a big bear hug from Mikan. Since it was supposed to be a day of some sort of significance, I didn't shoot her and let her be. Oh she also said she made something for me but apparently it was like a piece of charcoal, its identity was still unbeknownst to me. I told her I'd have it later and she happily skipped off and started handing charcoals to everyone. I didn't dare to eat it for I valued my life.

* * *

The school was in chaos.

Lessons were impossible. There were crazy fan girls and school news reporters running about all over Alice Academy.

It was absurd.

I was walking down the hallway until some guy stopped me. "Hey!" He exclaimed.

I stared at him and gave my usual blank expression. I had totally nothing to do with him.

"Cool Blue Sky, I'm in love with you." He knelled down, in the middle of the hallway, where everybody was staring. He seemed totally oblivious to the attention he was attracting. "Will you go out with me?" He presented me a bouquet of roses from the back of his hands. This was absurd too.

_What's wrong with him?_ I squinted and said, "Wrong person. I'm Hotaru Imai."

"But you look exactly like Cool Blue Sky!" _What the hell is that. _"So will you accept my love?"

"No and I don't even know you." I coldly rejected without any hesitation and shoved the bouquet back to him. Was he an idiot or an idiot?

I turned to leave but only to hear "Cool Blue Sky! One day, I'll make sure you'd accept me!". Yes, he's a blithering idiot.

So I continued to make my way down the hallway. Until somebody bumped into me, making me lose my balance. My legs tripped and I almost fell, but I was caught in time. I stood upright and brushed of my uniform where it was touched. I looked up, only to see Natsume.

"Watch where you're going," I hissed, obviously pissed. It's rather bad luck of me. Recently, wherever I go, he's always there.

Natsume looked behind me, "Oh shit." He suddenly grabbed me and ran. I took a glance behind. Wow, there was one big throng of girls. Those fan girls were probably hunting him down to give him some Valentine's day gifts or confessions. It wasn't that unexpected as he had a fan club, but it was really one huge crowd.

He was practically dragging me and escaping all over the place. I didn't even know where we were going because he was running fast while pulling me along. Somehow, we ended up in some random room.

The room was desolated, dark and small. There was only one working lIght bulb and it was barely working. And the room was so small that it could barely fit the both of us. We were basically squeezed in the room, body nearly touching each other. Natsume closed the door while still clutching on to my hand. I stared at his hands and stared at him until our eyes met. He saw that we were holding hands and quickly let it go.

There was an awkward silence for a while until I spoke, "Remind me, what the hell are we doing in this abandoned room?"

"Hiding."

"What am I doing here then?"

"Shh. Don't talk." I could only glare.

I took a deep breath and repressed my sigh.

"Zzz!"

It was pitch black.

The light bulb in the room had fused.

Now it was perfectly dark. I couldn't even see clearly even though it was broad daylight.

"You can scream if you want." He said in a mocking tone.

"Likewise." I replied with the very same way.

"Don't treat me like a sissy."

"So don't treat-," he covered my mouth with his bare hands.

"Someone's here." he whispered and let go. I could hear footsteps coming from the outside too.

Somebody turned the door knob, light shone into the dark room and it turned out to be a guy who came. I could hear Natsume heaving a sigh of relief. Somehow, the person looked familiar.

"It's you, Cool Blue Sky!" His eyes lit up. "This must be fate." He gave an effulgent smile. Oh it was the idiot from earlier, no wonder he looked familiar.

"If you don't like roses then what else do you like?" His eyes moved swiftly to glance at Natsume. "Wait, is he your boyfriend? Is that why you didn't accept me? Is that so?"

I rolled my eyes and mentally face-palmed. I was in shock at the very thought that idiots like him even cease exist on Earth. I looked at Natsume and cast the deal-with-this-annoying-person look.

"No." Natsume said tersely. "And go away."

The idiot opened up his arms and blocked the door. "No, at least tell me what you were doing here!" He raged.

"Nothing." Natsume blandly stated.

"Cool Blue Sky, did he tried to do anything funny to you?" I stared icily right back at him. I cast Natsume another get-him-to-shut-up look.

"Okay fine we're dating," Natsume grabbed my hands and showed in right in front the idiot's face. He pushed him off with the other and we walked away hand in hand. It was just a spurious reason to escape from the idiot's clutches, but it felt weird when we held hands. His hands were surprisingly warm. When we turned to a corner, he let go of our hands.

"Thanks."

"Don't get me wrong, it was the quickest solution."

"I knew. I'm not that dumb."

"THERE HE IS!" A scream echoed.

"Shit." Natsume cursed for the umpteen time.

"Language."

"Says the one who swears all the time too." He looked at the raging crowd, sighed and said, "Bye."

"Have fun." I smiled evilly. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and began his escape.

What a Valentine's day.

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**To be continued**

**Comments please?**

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	5. Dodgeball

**When Ice meets Fire**

**Chapter IV**

It was physical education lesson. We were having dodge ball and it was boys versus girls.

It was war.

It was time for Mikan to shine. As stupid she may be, she actually had some athletics skills up her sleeves. Somehow, it was even easy for her to hit the targets and even simpler for her to dodge balls. I guess my using of baka gun on her did managed to train her on her agility. It was also my gadgets showdown. I had shields to defend and machines to capture the dodge ball for me. It wasn't against the rules as long as I'm not caught.

For the guys, they had Ruka. Ruka was a swift player and worked on the defense. He's so dreamy. Oh, Natsume happened to be a good player too, I guess. He managed to take out many players effortlessly.

On the not-so-glorious side, there were sissies and there were whinny girls too.

"Oh my god!" That was one really high-pitched scream.

"Aim anywhere but my handsome face!" It's okay, you don't have one in the first place.

"Do NOT aim the ball at me! I just did my nails!" No surprise, it was Sumire.

A ball went flying straight at Sumire's face. She fainted.

"Opps," Koko said brightly with a grin, with no evident compunction.

Wait, no she didn't faint. In fact, she actually caught the ball. She got up and aimmed right at Koko. He dodged it easily. Her face turned fiery red as did her eyes. Within a minute, she knocked down four other opponents but still did not hit Koko. It was amazing to witness what a revengeful woman could do. Her vengeance was undeterred; nothing could stop her. She continued blasting shots but still failed to hit him.

She opted for plan B. "Oh look there's a squirrel!" She shouted.

"Huh? What? Where?" Koko curiously looked around. Guards downed.

Bam! Headshot. Koko was out. It was his turn to faint. Only that it was literally this time. He lied on the ground, unconscious.

The game soon came to an end with score of 2:1. Victory was just a step away. We, girls, had many tough opponents like Ruka, Natsume, Koko and many others. It was a good game despite the fact that we lost. Both teams' efforts were commendable. With that, it concluded our PE lesson.

* * *

Everyone was busy changing back to the uniform in their respective changing rooms and I was done pretty soon. I was thirsty, so I decided to get some money from my purse which was in class. The classroom should be empty.

When I stepped into the classroom, to my surprise, or should I say horror, I saw Natsume Hyuuga. A half-naked Natsume Hyuuga. His body was fit, suits his pretty face. He was kind of skinny yet he had toned abs. Oh shit, what did I just do? No, I did not just checked him. I did not. What. Oh my god. What the hell? Shit. Damn. Wait, what happened?

He arched a perfect brow at me. "Oh it's you. You surprised me."

?! You're the one that surprised me. "W-what are you doing here?" Pray tell me I did not just stuttered.

"What do you think," he gestured to himself, and started wearing the uniform. Oh god, I shouldn't be looking at him, at least not directly.

I need to cool down. "B-bye," I hoped I sounded calm and collected, not flustered.

"What?"

I grabbed my purse and ran out of the class. Doesn't he know that he has to change in the changing room?! My heart started pumping wildly. Damn it Natsume. No, no, no, this is wrong. It wasn't because of him. It was because I ran down the hallway. Yes it was.

I heard footsteps. "Hotaru are you okay?"

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**To be continued**

**Comments please?**

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	6. Stop smirking

**When Ice meets Fire**

**Chapter V**

"Hotaru are you okay?" I stopped panting and looked up. It was Ruka.

"Your face is really red," Ruka said, seemingly concerned as he opened his eyes wider. He moved closer and observed me closely. I touched my face self-consciously. Hot was an understatement.

Ruka used his hands and felt my forehead. My heartbeat remained beating fast. "You have a fever I guess, it feels hot."

I stepped back a little in embarrassment. He was being close. Way too close. "This isn't good for my heart," I mumbled softly.

"Hmm? What about your heart?" I felt the genuine concern in his tone.

"Nothing, everything's alright." I tried to put on my usual poker face, but with that heat on my face, it was hard.

"Are you really okay?"

"Yeah. Um, I'm fine, I guess." That did not came confidently.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary? I can accompany you." He offered as he smiled warmly. As much as I'd love to but I'm indeed fine. It was because of Natsume Hyuuga. Damn it.

I shook my head. "No I think it's better if you do. You're really red, you know." He grabbed my hand. "Come on, let's go."

"There's really no need to," I tried persuading but to no avail, he was really insistent.

Savior Yuu to the rescue. He appeared out of nowhere and informed Ruka that a teacher was looking for him. "Ah, then I'm sorry Hotaru I've to get going." He lips curved into a little frown. His eyes suddenly lit up, "Natsume! Hotaru's having a fever, I'll leave her in your hands!" With that, he left with Yuu.

Oh shit, come back, I don't want to be left alone with Natsume. I could feel him approaching and his eyes on me. "Wow, you're really red."

I nodded. I don't know where I'm supposed to look. Ugh. Help me. Somebody. I stared blankly at the floor, apparently finding sudden fascination for it. Natsume waved his hands before my eyes. I avoided his eye contact. "Uh I'm fine, you can leave me alone." I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist.

My lips twitched and my eyes refused to look at him. It was hard to face him after seeing him half-naked. "Look at me," he said, sounding annoyed. "What, you hate me so much that you don't even want to look at me?"

"It's not that I don't to. I can't." Oh damn. Shit. Did i just blurted it out loud? It was just meant as a thought. Damn this flustered me.

"What?" He let go of my wrist. "Why?"

My eyes met his piercing stare. I couldn't hold the stare any longer so I broke off the eye contact. My heart skipped a beat. It palpitated. Now that I see him, it was harder to forget how he was changing in class. My heart pumped faster, harder. The changing room was there for a purpose, was it that hard to understand?

"What's wrong?" He asked as I stared at my feet.

"... Tell me what's wrong." Was it worry that I sensed? My mind wasn't thinking straight.

"Hey?"

"Fine," his persistent questioning got me. "You shouldn't have changed in the classroom." My face heated up again as I just had a flashback of what happened earlier. I face palmed. Damn you.

"So that's what this is all about." He seemed amused and smirked. "Are you, like, blushing?" He took one step closer. Our faces were so close that our noses almost touched. The hair on the back of my head bristled and I felt a cold chill down my spine. Hadn't he heard of personal space?

"No way in hell," He was being so near so I pushed him away, but his strong pair of arms didn't fail him. He caught my arms instead.

"Yes way in heaven, then?" He went for a cliché and smirked. Damn it, stop smirking.

I managed to squeeze out of his wrath. "Don't twist my words that way. Go away."

He simply shrugged. I walked away from him, but what stuck on my mind was his annoying smirking face, making me tetchy the whole day.

* * *

**To be continued**

**Comments please?**

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